


Night's Cover

by BlueScanner



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Horror, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-07-28 21:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16249994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueScanner/pseuds/BlueScanner
Summary: Marinette has to save her school (and the rest of Paris) from an infectious Halloween akuma while balancing her terrified classmates.





	1. One

“What do you think?” Marinette spun around, her white, layered dress flaring up around her ankles. 

“Very festive, Marinette!” Tikki smiled, watching Marinette come to a stop. 

“Thanks.” Marinette patted down the skirt, before stepping in front of her vanity mirror. “I just hope it isn’t too much.” 

“What do you mean?” Tikki floated down to sit atop the mirror, tilting her head. 

“I’m so done up right now. Even just my hair...” She reached up and fixed a curl. Earlier she had teased her hair up and sprayed a temporary white streak through her hair, making it looked electrified. She worried she would stick out like a sore thumb, having put so much effort into her costume. 

“I wouldn’t worry, Marinette! People your age love to dress up, right?”

“They do, but... Most costumes are store bought. I sewed this myself.” She motioned to her dress. “And Bride of Frankenstein isn’t the most popular costume nowadays.” 

“Which makes it unique!” Tikki flew down beside Marinette and looked into the mirror with her. “You look great. Everyone else will think so, too I’m sure.” 

“I hope so, Tikki.” Marinette smiled nervously and checked her reflection, making sure the pale powder she layered over her skin was still even and visible. She sent a silent thanks to Alya for helping her nail the dark eye shadow she had meticulously packed around her eyes. 

“If you keep primping yourself in the mirror, you won’t make it to school on time.” Tikki said, pointing to the clock. Marinette sighed and resigned herself to looking as she was. She grabbed her schoolbag and bounded down the stairs, carefully giving both of her parents kisses on the cheek before taking off to school. She shivered slightly as the chilly fall air bit at her skin through the thin white fabric. While she had considered accounting for the cold air when designing the costume, she opted against insulating the dress, as he mock ups had looked very bulky and off. Instead, she would just suffer through the walk to school. 

But if anyone invited her anywhere after school? Well, she hadn’t quite thought that far ahead. But she was pretty sure it would probably be fine. Regardless, no one had invited her anywhere yet, so what was the point in planning a nonexistent outing? She pushed open the doors to her school and found herself greeted with a plethora of Halloween decor. Black and orange streamers lined the upper balcony’s surrounding the courtyard, fake cobwebs were stuffed in the corners of doors and underneath tables. It appeared that someone had even stashed a few fake skeletons around various spots, some peeking over the windows lining the classrooms. Marinette smiled to herself as she passed by all of her fellow schoolmates, all thankfully dressed up. 

Some clearly had put more effort into their costumes than others, but Marinette did not stand out at all. She fit in quite well, actually. All her worries disappeared as she made her way past her costumed peers and into the locker room, where a few people milled about. She opened her locker and slipped her belongings inside, keeping her required books and such in her arms. She couldn’t help herself but smile at the thought of Frankenstein’s monster’s bride carrying around a math and English textbook. 

“What are you smiling about?” Alya said, popping out of seemingly nowhere behind Marinette. Marinette let out a small shriek before shaking her head. 

“Oh, nothing.” Marinette said, closing her locker. “Your costume is cute.” 

“Why thank you. The cloak was made by a very talented designer.” Alya pulled her red cloak tighter around her shoulders, causing the hood to cover the sides of her face. 

“Really? Who?” Marinette asked, mock interest painted over her face. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You’ve probably never heard of her.” Alya turned her nose up and waved Marinette off dismissively. 

“You’re right. No clue who she is.” Marinette laughed a little bit, taking in the rest of Alya’s costume. Her skirt extended past her knees, the rest of her legs covered by white knee socks. She held a woven basket in one hand, her textbooks filling it. Marinette’s eyes perked up. 

“Oh! That’s right. How did Nino’s costume turn out? I haven’t seen him yet.” Marinette asked. 

“He makes a great big bad wolf.” Alya paused. “Well, if you ignore how... not big and bad he is. But he looks good.” She nodded her head. “It sucks you don’t have a Frankenstein monster to go along with your costume.” 

“Stop it. You know I couldn’t have asked him.” Marinette waved Alya off, shaking her head. 

“You could have let me ask him to be the monster, girl.” Alya frowned. “He would have said yes.”

“I’m sure Adrien is perfectly happy with his costume choice.” Marinette sniffed, trying to hide her disappointment. She would have loved to be Adrien’s bride but she knew she never could have suffered the potential embarrassment of asking him. 

“Yes, I’m sure that he’s just ecstatic to be dressed as the prince that Chloe talked him into.” Alya rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’m surprised that Chloe didn’t go as Ladybug.”

“She isn’t? That is surprising.” Marinette agreed. Admittedly she was glad Chloe wasn’t dressed as Ladybug. She had seen Chloe dressed as her alter ego far too many times. “What is she then?”

“Weirdly enough I think she’s dressed as a queen.” Alya squinted. “Which is honestly weirder than the fact she isn’t Ladybug.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Adrien is a prince and Chloe is a Queen, then is she his mom? Or are they just unrelated? I assumed she would go as Adrien’s counterpart and be a princess.” Alya pulled out her phone and loaded Chloe’s instagram page, where earlier this morning she had posted a photo of her Halloween costume. Marinette scanned over it.

“Hmm. She definitely does look more like a queen than a princess.” Marinette commented. The photo had Chloe posed in a huge gown, her hair done up with a crown atop her head. Sabrina stood slightly behind her, dressed as a Lady in waiting. “Of course that’s what Sabrina is.” 

“I wasn’t surprised to see that.” Alya clicked off her phone as the bell rang. She crooked her elbow, letting Marinette slide her arm. The pair walked up to their classroom, Marinette holding her long dress up as they stepped up the crowded stairs. They flooded into the classroom and Marinette’s breath hitched as her eyes caught onto Adrien, who sat at his desk talking to Nino. His costume was fitted and exactly what you would expect a teenage model to wear. 

He was _gorgeous_. His hair was styled around a small crown with green crystals surrounding the (presumably fake) gold. His white buttoned jacket had gold shoulder plates that paired with the gold of his crown and buttons. Everything he wore brought out his eyes. His oh-so-gorgeous eyes. 

“Marinette? Are you going to move from the doorway or do I need to do it for you?” Alya tugged at Marinette’s arm. Marinette snapped back into reality and walked to her seat, dropping her textbooks in front of her. Once she was able to move past Adrien’s stunning appearance, she was able to take in Nino’s costume as he turned to talk to Alya. His headphones had wolf ears attached to them, his hat replaced by a hood covered in messy fur, and his face had whispers painted on. 

“Did you make your dress yourself?” Adrien asked, turning around to face Marinette. 

“Me?” Her eyes grew wide. “Y-yeah. I did. Is... Is it bra- I mean bad?” She stuttered. 

“No, no!” Adrien shook his head. “It looks fantastic.”

“You look fantastic.” Marinette’s face grew red as she processed her own words. 

“Thanks, Marinette.” Adrien smiled, taking her compliment to mean his costume, not his general appearance. “I wouldn’t have minded going as something less... generic? But it’s what Chloe wanted, and I had no better ideas.” He shrugged. “But I like how it turned out.” 

“Y-yeah.” Marinette looked down sheepishly, worried she would say something else embarrassing. 

“You should totally enter the costume contest tonight!” Adrien’s eyes lit up. “I’m sure you would win.” 

“Costume contest...?” Marinette furrowed her brows, knowing nothing of a costume contest. 

“The one at Chloe’s party tonight at her hotel.” He paused. “You’re going, aren’t you?” 

“I... I didn’t know there was a party.” Marinette frowned, not wanting to invite herself along to anything. 

“That’s weird. Everyone at school is invited.” Adrien glanced around the room. “That’s what Chloe told me, anyways.” He turned to Alya, who was still in conversation with Nino. “Alya, did you know about the party?” 

“The party?” She paused in thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah. I heard about that before school. Why?”

“Are you going to it?” He asked. 

“Probably. I don’t have anything better to do.” She shrugged. 

“See? It’s a school wide thing.” Adrien said, turning to face Marinette again. “You should really come. It’ll be fun.” 

“I...” Marinette fumbled, taking in the fact that Adrien wanted _her_ at the party. “I-I’ll try to come.” She managed to get out. 

“Great.” Adrien smiled. “You should save a dance for m-” He was cut off by the door slamming open, and a loud voice calling out.

“Adrikins! You have to promise me to take a picture with me later for instagram.” Chloe said, pushing her way through the door. The skirt of her dress was far too big to simply fit through the door. Instead she needed Sabrina to carefully squish the skirt inwards to get her in. Marinette sighed as Adrien turned away, his attention focusing on Chloe.


	2. Two

“Sure, Chloe.” Adrien said, nodding his head. 

“Ugh. Sabrina, make sure no one steps on my gown.” Chloe turned her nose upwards as she walked to her seat, Sabrina trailing behind her, holding the skirt up. 

“Of course, Chloe!” Sabrina rushed ahead, pulling Chloe’s seat out for her. Marinette caught Alya rolling her eyes, visualizing Marinette’s shared emotions. Everyone’s heads snapped to the front of the class as Mlle. Bustier stepped into the classroom, her long black dress trailing behind her. She tipped her long, pointy witch hat to the class before spreading her arms out wide, smiling at the class. 

“You all look so lovely!” She brought her arms back down, taking in her students’ costumes. “I can only imagine how little you all want to do English work right now, with all the excitement of Halloween.” 

“She got that right.” Alya said under her breath, leaning back in her seat. 

“So, since it’s a special holiday...” Mlle. Bustier trailed off, a grin spread over her face. “And you’re all such a good class and ahead... Instead of continuing our work today, you can all discuss your costumes and the meaning behind them for today’s class!” The class collectively sighed in relief. “But there is a catch.” She said, garnering groans. “By tomorrow, you’ll have to have written a page long informal piece about one of your classmate’s costume. Go ahead! Discuss.” Mlle. Bustier took a seat at her desk, pulling out tests and assignments to grade. 

“It could be a lot worse.” Marinette said, turning to Alya. “An informal page on someone’s costume should be pretty easy.”

“Much easier than finishing our book and being assigned a real, formal essay.” Alya nodded her head. “This will give me the time that I need to finalize my contest.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Marinette said, remembering Alya’s latest blog post. “How is the costume contest going?” 

“It’s going pretty well. I know I’ll get a lot of costumes entered tonight.” She paused in thought. “I’ve seen a few Ladybug costumes so far, and the ones that have been sent in are pretty decent. Honestly I’m just glad Ladybug agreed to it.” Alya pulled out a notebook and pen, scanning around the room. Marinette nodded her head, having also remembered that she had agreed to take a picture with the winner of Alya’s contest as Ladybug. While she wasn’t quite sure how meeting with Alya and the winner as Ladybug would work out, she would figure it out.

“Who do you think you’re going to write about?” Marinette asked, watching Alya look around. 

“Hmm. Maybe Max? I want to know how he did his visor, anyways.” Alya said, pointing her pen to Max who was talking to Ivan and Mylene. He had fake metal plates over his body and a visor covering his eyes, displaying various text, symbols, and emotions. “What about you?”

“I don’t know yet. I guess I’ll go around the room and decide afte-” Marinette shrugged, but froze as she felt a finger tap her shoulder. 

“Do you mind if I write about your costume?” Adrien said, standing beside Alya and Marinette’s desk. 

“O-of course!” Marinette said, her voice coming out higher than intended. 

“Great.” Adrien said, opening his notebook. Marinette stood silent, watching him until Alya elbowed her. 

“Oh!” Marinette startled. “Can I- um- write about yours?” She asked, looking anxiously at Adrien. 

“My costume?” Adrien raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how much there is to write about it. It’s really just a generic prince costume, nothing as interesting as yours.” He said, stirring up an invisible blush under Marinette’s face powder. 

“I’m going to go talk to Max about his costume.” Alya said, brushing past Marinette and Adrien. 

“You can write about it if you want to, though.” Adrien said, mistaking Marinette’s wide eyes as something other than admiration. “I guess you could consider it a prince charming costume.” He looked down at himself. 

“Right.” Marinette sharply nodded her head before scrambling to pull out a piece of paper and pencil. By the time she looked up, Chloe had zeroed in on Adrien and was approaching from behind.

“Adrien!” She cooed, coming to a stop and placing her hands on his shoulders. “Are you ready to write about my costume?” She smiled up to him.

“Sorry, Chloe. I was planning on writing about Marinette’s.” He said, giving Chloe a sympathetic look.

“But our costumes match.” She pouted, leaning onto his arm. 

“Exactly. It would be too similar to write about our costumes.” He nodded his head. “If you really want to write about a matching costume then Sabrina is your Lady in Waiting. It would work out perfectly.” He motioned to Sabrina, who stood a row above, watching. 

Chloe huffed. “Fine.” She said, unable to come up with an argument. “But if you change your mind, I’m right up here.” She said, pulling away from Adrien and stepping up to Sabrina.

“Alright. So, Bride of Frankenstein?” Adrien said, turning back to face Marinette. 

“Yeah.” Marinette nodded her head over enthusiastically. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, class!” Mlle. Bustier said, standing up from her desk. “The bell is about to go off, so start packing up!” She said, breaking up the chatter throughout the class. Marinette stood up from the chair she sat on, packing up her things. Alya, Nino, and Adrien all stood up from the surrounding chairs as well. She grabbed her textbook just as the bell rang before catching up to Alya and leaving the classroom. Students flooded into the walkways, a regular hum of chatter falling over the open school. 

“Even after talking to Max for like, half of the class I still don’t know how he made the visor.” Alya shook her head, trudging alongside Marinette as they walked down the stairs. “But I did get a pretty decent paper about the rest of his costume, thoug-” Alya stopped talking, cut off by a very loud, dramatic noise of disgust from somewhere behind them. They (as well as every other student in their vicinity) stopped and turned around, glancing around for the source. 

“Are you _serious_?” Chloe yelled out, her back turned to Marinette, thrusting her fists against her skirt. “This is ridicuolous! Utterly ridiculous! How dare you!” She pointed an accusatory finger to a fearful underclassman, who stood in front of her. 

“I-I’m sorry.” He said, coming out loud through the now silent school. “I didn’t mean to-” His voice came out slurred due to his fake fangs atop his real teeth. 

“ _I’m forry. I didthnt mean tfo._ ” Chloe mocked him, her face contorted in rage. “You ripped my dress!” She pointed down to her gown skirt. It had a tear where someone had clearly stepped on it, pulling a seam. “Do you know how much this dress costs?” 

“I said I’m sorry.” The boy said, shaking a little bit. “Your dress is just so long and it’s so crowded, I didn’t even notice-” 

“You know what no one will notice?” Chloe sneered, getting up in the boy’s face. “Your lame, unoriginal vampire costume. You look and sound ridiculous. Your fake fangs give you a lisp, and your cloak is baggy and horribly unfashionable.” Marinette caught sight of Adrien’s blond hair as he pushed his way through the crowd, all staring at the scene. 

“Cut it out, Chloe.” He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “It was an accident, he apologised.”

“But Adrien, my dress is ruined.” Chloe managed to whine and sneer at the same time. 

“I doubt it. I’m sure there’s someone in this school who can fix it, or worst case scenario you could get your seamstress fix it.” Adrien glanced around, his eyes landing on Marinette at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh! Marinette can sew, I’m sure she could help you out if you asked her to.” He said, smiling at Chloe. Marinette froze as many students turned to look at her. A handful had realized that getting to their next class was still a pressing matter, and began shuffling through the people still watching.

“Ask Marinette? For help?” Chloe couldn’t seem to contain herself, despite Adrien’s presence. “She would probably end up making it worse!” Marinette’s face fell as she watched Adrien deflate, seeming to give up. 

“I’m sure it would turn out great.” He said, a little quieter. “Listen, Chloe, we need to get to class.” Adrien said, grabbing onto her arm lightly. He glanced over to the boy standing before them, who, as if on cue, took off, pushing past everyone and fleeing down the stairs. 

“Go on, run away.” Chloe spun on her heels, causing her dress to flare up and hit a few people standing close by. “All you’re doing is making yourself look as pathetic as you are.” She called out after him, watching him push into the locker room on the main floor. Marinette watched with growing dread as everyone began walking again, continuing on the path to their class. 

This was perfect akuma fodder, and she couldn’t do anything about it. He was bound to have gone to the boys bathroom inside the locker room and she couldn’t follow him in to attempt to comfort him before the worst happened. 

The most she could do was hope it would be a harmless akuma.


	3. Three

Adrien, unlike Marinette, was able to do something more than hope. He walked beside Chloe down the stairs, careful about her dress. “I have to go to the bathroom, I’ll see you in class, okay?” He said, stepping away. 

“Okay.”Chloe sighed, waving him off. “Sabrina, make sure no one else steps on my skirt.” 

“Of course, Chloe!” Sabrina said, rushing to her side as Adrien pushed open the locker room door. He looked around, seeing no one. Plagg slid out from inside his pocket, flying in front of Adrien’s face.

“Doing cleanup work?” He asked, looking smug. 

“Now isn’t the time, Plagg.” Adrien said, using his hand to push Plagg down. “I need to at least try to keep the akuma away.” He walked over to the boys’ bathroom door, waiting for Plagg to settle back into his pocket before pushing the door open. The boy sat on the floor against a wall, his head down with his arms wrapped around. Adrien quietly walked over and crouched down. “Hey.” He said softly, trying not to startle the boy. 

This, of course, failed. The boy’s head shot up, his eyes wide as they landed on Adrien. He groaned, then put his head back into his arms. “Are you here to make fun of me, too?” He said, his voice muffled but without a lisp. Adrien noticed the set of fake fangs resting atop the counter beside a sink. 

“No, I wouldn’t.” Adrien frowned. “I’m here to apologise on Chloe’s behalf.” 

“What does it matter? She humiliated me in front of the _whole school_.” The boy shook his head as much as he could. “If she really wanted to apologise she could do it herself instead of sending _you_ ” 

“She couldn’t really get in here if she did, now could she?” Adrien said, trying to throw a little bit of humour into the situation. The boy looked up and glared at Adrien. 

“You just proved my point. She doesn’t want to apologise.” He huffed angrily. “That girl is a witch.” He pushed himself up, using the wall to keep his balance. “To make things worse, everyone just stood there, letting me be berated.”

“I stopped her.” Adrien said, frowning again. 

“ _You_ might have stopped her, but no one defended me, and no one from my class even tried.” The boy grabbed his fake teeth and balled up his fists before storming over to the door. 

“Wait!” Adrien called out, standing up. The boy paused, reaching for the door. “I... Uh...” Adrien sputtered for a moment, trying to grasp at something to say before he made an akuma worse. “I think your costume is cool.” He said, conjuring up a smile that almost always won people over. 

_Almost_ always. This boy was an exception. He snarled and pulled the door open. “You’re just saying that.” He walked through the door and let it slam behind him. Adrien rushed out to follow him, prying the door open and walking into the empty locker room. He walked around, checking behind every corner and locker to no avail. “Hello?” He called out, scanning the room. He sighed and watched as Plagg wiggled his way out of the pocket and floated out, glancing around the room. 

“I guess he vanished.” Plagg shrugged.

“This is really bad, Plagg.” Adrien ran his hand through his hair. “I think I made it worse.”

“Definitely.” Plagg nodded his head. “But he was going to be akumatized anyways. How often has consoling someone like that worked out?” 

“I just... I thought I could comfort him.” Adrien groaned.

Plagg frowned a little. “It was a nice thing to do, even if you did fail.”

“Thanks, Plagg.” Adrien smiled weakly. “I don’t know if it’s worth it to go back to class and wait for an akuma attack or stay out, ready to transform.” 

“Do you really want to be a sitting duck?”

“No, you’re right.” Adrien sighed. “Claws on.” He said, sucking Plagg into his ring and replacing his costume with his supersuit. He popped open one of the high windows and climbed up and over before using his staff to heave himself over the roof of the school. He sat down, watching over the courtyard. 

While Chat Noir was lounging atop the school, Marinette sat in class, staring nervously down at Adrien’s empty seat. She had seen him go into the locker room after the boy, but he had yet to show back up to class. The only explanation she could come up with over his absence was related to the inevitable akuma. Had he been affected? Maybe she should get up and look around, see if anything was off. 

“Hey, Girl. Why do you look so freaked out?” Alya leaned closer to Marinette, whispering. 

“I... I think I forgot my phone in the locker room before class.” Marinette replied, frowning. She raised her hand, waiting for Ms. Mendeleiev to turn away from the white board. 

“And so-” She turned, her eyebrow raising at Marinette. “Yes, Marinette?”

“Can I go to the bathroom?” Marinette asked, putting her hand down.

“If you must.” Ms. Mendeleiev said, looking to the rest of the class. “To balance this equation, you need to...” She continued the equation as Marinette stood up, rushing towards the door. Just as Marinette reached her hand out to open the door, the daylight from the windows faded, plunging the classroom into night. The class was silent for a moment before confused chatter broke out, distracting everyone as Marinette rushed out of the class. She broke into a sprint as she rushed down the walkway, down the stairs, and into the locker room. 

Chat Noir would have noticed Marinette’s sudden rush across the courtyard had he not been staring up at the suddenly dark sky, frowning. Everything except for the sky appeared to be normal. He stood up, his staff at the ready. The city was eerily quiet, and he nearly yelped as Ladybug landed beside him. 

“Fancy seeing you here, Kitty.” Ladybug said, eyeing him suspiciously. “What are you doing on top of a school?” 

“Getting a good vantage point.” He shrugged. “What about you?”

“I saw you as I was passing the school.” She lied. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“I think we can safely assume it’s an akuma.” Chat continued to scan his surroundings, noticing the fact that the street lights were off despite their light sensors. “Do you think we should look around?” He suggested, trying to keep Ladybug near the akumatization area without making it clear he knew exactly what happened. 

“Sounds like a good idea.” Ladybug nodded her head, glad he suggested to stay in the area. The two superheroes descended to the ground of the courtyard, looking around as students began to step out of their classrooms to get a better look at the sky. Ladybug heard a faint, muffled scream. She glanced at Chat Noir, who nodded his head. 

“Everyone! Get back into your classrooms and lock the doors!” He yelled out, pointing at the students gathered around. He and Ladybug took off towards the origin of the scream, the basement. They pushed open the door and nearly flew down the stairs, listening carefully. The lack of light made it difficult to see, causing Ladybug to squint.   
They rounded a corner, gasping as they saw a cloaked figure hunched over a body, wiping at its mouth. Ladybug used her yoyo to swing at the figure, who jumped up and ducked under the string. His pale, gaunt face was now visible. Blood dripped down from his lips where two pointy fangs protruded. 

He smiled cruelly before dissipating into dark, black smoke, quickly flowing past the two superhereos. Chat Noir turned to follow the cloud of smoke, ready to chase after it. Ladybug grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back. “We can deal with that later.” She rushed to the body’s side, scanning it over. She recognised it to be a girl from the grade below, her blonde hair matted and covering parts of her face. 

She had two small bloody holes dug into her neck, blood dripping down and tinting her hair. Ladybug bit her lip and carefully reached out, searching for a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt a heartbeat. It was slow and faint, but still there. The girl’s chest began to barely rise and fall as she took short, small breaths. 

Chat Noir joined Ladybug’s side, frowning. “Is she alive?” He asked, watching Ladybug pull her hand back. 

“Seems like it.” Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief. “But this can’t be good. If this akuma is anything like his outfit...” 

“Then she’s probably-” Chat Noir was cut off by the girl shooting up sharply, her shoulders rolling in a very broken, jerky manner. She sat still for a moment before breathing out one long, deep breath. She rolled her neck before twisting to face Ladybug and Chat Noir, her hair pushed aside from her face. 

She had grown pale, her cheeks hollow. Two small fangs poked out from her slightly parted lips as she stared hungrily at Ladybug. She lunged for Ladybug, mouth open. Chat Noir reacted quickly, kicking the girl away. The pair jumped up, watching as the girl rolled away from the force of his foot. She sat back up and rose to her feet. Her eyes were hollow and crazed. She reached up to her neck and wiped the blood onto her hands, the wounds already scabbing over and becoming two perfect circles. 

Ladybug ran towards the girl, swinging her yoyo. She smacked the girl against the head with the yoyo, disorienting her as she used the string to wrap the girl. Ladybug held her tight as she thrashed against the yoyo. “Chat, can you find some rope?” Ladybug asked, struggling to keep the girl together. 

“On it.” He said, speeding away in search of something more permanent to restrain her. After a few minutes, he returned, rope wrapped around his arm. He crouched down and tied the girl tightly, letting Ladybug pull the yoyo off. He stepped back, watching as the girl thrashed around and struggled to no avail. Satisfied with his job, he nodded to Ladybug. “We need to get up to every other student. There’s no telling if that other guy can get through the locked doors.” 

“You’re right.” Ladybug said, a feeling of dread washing over her. Even if the school doors were locked, there was no telling if he would target the rest of the city. Remembering his smoke-like transformation, Ladybug looked back to the tied up girl nervously. She still sat against a wall, her arms and legs bound together. Seeing her immobilized helped soothe Ladybug’s nerves the tiniest bit. If this girl was also able to become smoke, surely she already would have. 

Chat Noir followed Ladybug’s gaze. “What are you thinking?” He asked. 

“Do you think his victims have different abilities than the original akuma?” She asked, keeping her eyes on the girl. 

Chat Noir frowned, watching the girl. “Maybe. You’re talking about the smoke thing, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Our situation points to only him being able to do that. I don’t know what we would do if she could also do it.” He gestured to the girl, who snarled at him.

“You don’t know what I can do.” She said, her voice coming out low and echo-ey.

“We really should get out of here.” Chat Noir grabbed onto Ladybug’s arm, her head finally looking away from the girl. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ladybug said, walking towards the stairs with Chat Noir.


	4. Four

The courtyard was eerily silent, save for the cars that still drove past the school, continuing on as if the sun hadn’t been replaced by the moon before noon had even struck. This was a slightly concerning side effect of akuma attacks prevailing day to day. Citizens couldn’t stop every day or so and wait until the city was saved before returning to work once everyone was inevitably saved. 

And so, despite the horror that had transpired in the basement of a local high school, everyone continued on outside, unaware of the infectious threat they faced. Ladybug looked around, relief growing as every door scanned remained shut, students pressed against the windows trying to get a look at what was happening outside. “Where do you think he went?” Chat Noir asked, looking around just as Ladybug had. 

“I don’t know.” She frowned. “We should talk to a student who might know what happened. Find out more information.” She said, knowing that their best chance to find the akuma was to stay here. But she couldn’t let Chat Noir know that she knew. It had to come from a student. 

“Good idea.” Chat nodded his head, having the same thought process as Ladybug but in reverse. “Where should we go?”

Ladybug considered this, trying to remember what grade the boy was in. If she could pick a class who were in the same year, or even better his own class, they would be able to give insight into the boy himself, not just what happened earlier. “That one.” She said, pointing at a class with younger students peering out of the window. In response to the superheroine’s gesture, several students gasped and began chattering amongst themselves. 

They became more flustered as Chat and Ladybug approached. It only took Ladybug knocking once before the lock clicked and the door swung open. They rushed inside, shutting the door behind them. The students (and teacher) looked on in awe. Ladybug cleared her throat. 

“We’re currently dealing with an akuma attack, and wanted to ask if any of you might know anything.” She looked around, getting no response. 

“Did any of you see or hear about anything happening that could have led to an akuma?” Chat prompted. A few students glanced around, thinking. 

“Oh!” A girl standing in the back gasped, her pirate hat nearly falling off as she perked up. “Maybe Jules?” She suggested. Several students gasped in unison, muttering agreements. 

“Jules?” Ladybug asked. 

“He got like, totally humiliated by... What’s her name?” A boy piped in. 

“Chloe Bourgeois. She’s only the daughter of the _mayor_ , Adam. How don’t you remember her name?” A girl near the front of the group sneered at Adam who shrugged in response. 

“Is Jules in this class?” Chat looked around. 

“No, he’s in Mr. Thomas’ class. But he’s in our grade.” Adam said. 

“Does anyone have any more information on him? What’s he like? What was he wearing?” Ladybug said, trying to milk as much info as she could. 

“Uhhh... He was wearing a vampire costume.” A boy said. “And he’s kinda timid, I guess.” 

“He also has a bit of a temper.” A girl added on, proceeding to be smacked on the arm by another girl. “What? It’s true, and they asked.”

“Is there anything else?” Ladybug asked, trying to pry literally anything to no avail. The class remained mostly silent, the occasional bit of chatter humming in the crowd. She sighed and turned to Chat. “That should be enough information.”

“It’s more than we usually get.” He mustered up a smile as they left the classroom, making sure the door had locked behind them. “So that’s our guy for sure, then.” Chat Said, glancing at each classroom just to make sure everything was still okay. “It’s weird that he hasn’t shown back up yet.”

“That we know of.” Ladybug looked around, her nerves slipping uncharacteristically through her mask. “You don’t think that he took off to terrorize the city, do you?”

“It’s not out of the question...” Chat trailed off, seeing Ladybug’s uneasy expression. “But if he’s mad about what happened here, then I would imagine he might... stay here?” He suggested, trying to keep Ladybug calm. Seeing her look so worried gave him an uneasy feeling to match hers. 

“I don’t want to leave the school in case he comes back, but for all we know the whole city is turned.” Ladybug sighed, her mind running through possibilities. “Let’s split up for a bit.”

“What?” 

“If we’re apart, one of us can watch over the school while the other patrols over the city for a bit before coming back.” Ladybug explained, already set in her plan.

“But what if something happens-” Chat frowned. Splitting up was a very traditionally poor horror movie decision, and in his current situation he couldn’t help but unconsciously abide by the classic movies he had watched.

“We can call each other.” She cut him off. “And if one of us doesn't respond, there’s always the tracker.” She slid open her yoyo and displayed a map with their locations for emphasis. “We’ll be fine, Chat. We're plenty capable on our own.” She closed the yoyo. 

“Alright, my Lady. I trust you.” Chat said, pressing a kiss against the back of her hand. He smiled as he used his pole to reach the rooftops, settling into a position to keep watch. Ladybug smiled gratefully towards him before taking off, coming up with the best places to start her search. 

The Eiffel tower was a heavily populated place, and therefore could be a serious target for infection. She swung towards the landmark, noticing nothing strange save for some civilians taking footage of the sky. Biting her lip, she climbed atop an advertising pole and gathered the passersby attention. “Everyone! For your own safety you need to seek safety and ensure your doors are locked!” Her word sending everyone off to the most nearby buildings. Ideally, all of Paris would be safely inside their homes, doors and windows locked. 

But she was well aware the best she could do was usher small sections of the population to safety. Once the general area was clear, she took off to the entrance of the Louvre, people entering and exiting as normal. After sharing a very rushed, panicked discussion with the chief of security, the Louvre was put under lockdown. 

Ladybug had an irrational lingering fear of the akuma being inside of the Louvre during the lock down as she took off, beginning her path to Arc de Triomphe. Her yoyo let off a hurried beep halfway through her travel, causing her to stop and lower herself to the streets below. She slid the yoyo open and held it up to her face, Chat Noir’s panicked expression taking up the screen. 

“The girl is out. I need backup asap.” He rushed out, seeming to be running. 

“The girl? What do you-” Ladybug furrowed her brows. “Oh. You don’t mean-”

“I do mean. There’s two of them now and-” Chat cringed as the sound of glass shattering cut him off. “Turns out the classroom windows are _really easy to break._ ” 

“I’m on my way now. Stay safe.” She said, already running as she closed the yoyo and used it to swing in the direction of the school.


	5. Five

The sight of the school took Ladybug’s breath away. Small pools of blood were spattered around the concrete, glass shards strewn about from broken classroom windows, a few motionless bodies laid about, vampire like creatures roamed about, not a single unturned student in sight. Much to her surprise, Ladybug noticed the lack of akuma victims roaming outside of the school. The steps had some blood, presumably from students who had tried to escape and failed. 

She stood over the entrance to the school, balancing on the roof. So far no one had noticed her in the darkness. Ladybug scanned over the people below, very, very worried she would see a vampirified Chat Noir in the mix. She let out a small breath of relief as no one resembled her partner. She hoped that she hadn’t missed his dark suit in the shadows somewhere below. She looked around the school, unsure of where Chat had gotten off to. If he wasn’t down there, then-

Ladybug nearly screamed as she felt a hand grasp her arm. Restraining herself, she turned to see Chat Noir’s glowing eyes beside her. She took a moment to calm down before speaking quietly. “ _What happened_?”

“ _I was keeping watch when the basement door opened up and the akuma rushed out with the girl from before following behind him. He must have gone down there and untied her while we were talking to that class._ ” Chat said, looking distressed. 

“ _Then what? Did you get hurt?_ ” She asked, trying to see any injuries. 

" _No, I have a few scratch marks but other than that I’m fine.” Chat shook his head. “Once they came up it was 2 against one, and I couldn’t get too close to either of them because they kept lunging for my neck._ ” He rubbed at his neck. “ _I ran around, trying to keep them distracted. That’s when I called you. Then one of them broke a window and went for the students._ ”

“ _Did... Did everyone..._?” Ladybug asked, looking down uneasily at the courtyard.

“ _No, a lot of them got away. Some through the doors, and I’m not sure where the people who hid are._ ” He rubbed at a scratch on his cheek. “ _They took Chloe to the basement. I don’t know what they’ve done with her._ ”

“ _So we can either try to get the akuma out, or try to rescue Chloe first._ ” Ladybug sighed. “ _Do you know where the akuma is?_ ”

“ _Last I saw he went into the basement._ ” Chat replied.

“ _So we’ll have to get down there anyways._ ” Ladybug frowned. “ _But how are we going to get down there with all of these?_ ” She gestured to the several vampires walking about below. 

“ _We could break one of the small windows in the basement and slip in, or we could get to the main floor with an outer window that was broken earlier._ ” Chat suggested. 

“ _Let’s go straight to the basement._ ” Ladybug said, straightening out her crouch stance. The two superheroes made their way down the side of the school, finding one of the few, very slim windows to the basement. They stood before it, silently considering their options.

“Cataclysm would be a waste here, right?” Chat said, breaking the silence. 

“Yes, absolutely.” Ladybug replied. “Maybe you could-”

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!” A voice drew their attention away from the window and towards Alya, who was rushing towards them from a bush with her phone out.

“You need to get to safety.” Ladybug said, grabbed onto Alya’s shoulder as she came to a stop. “If you got away from the school you need to keep going, it’s not safe here.” 

“I know it’s not safe, that’s why I’m still here.” She held her phone up to Ladybug and Chat’s faces. “Well, for one this is good footage for my blog. Second, a lot of people are still trapped inside the school. I could see them through some of the windows.” Alya gestured to empty windows on the second floor. 

“Were you going to try to rescue them yourself...?” Chat asked. 

“I...” Alya sighed. “Yes. I couldn’t just sit by while my friends are inside, surrounded by those monsters.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, God. My friend Marinette probably hid in the locker room. She took off looking for her phone when the sky went dark and I didn’t see her come out of the school or anything.”

Chat’s brows furrowed. “What?” He had assumed that Marinette was in class when the akuma attacked, and seeing as he hadn’t noticed a vampire who looked anything like Marinette wandering the school... Was she still inside? And what about Nino? Did he escape? Was he stuck somewhere too?

At the same time, Ladybug’s face fell. Adrien never came to class. Maybe that girl wasn’t the first victim? Was any of that blood inside the school Adrien’s? Or could he be hiding somewhere too? She couldn’t bear the thought of Adrien cowering somewhere, hiding from those monsters.

“We have to try and rescue some of them.” Ladybug said. While she knew that capturing the akuma would resolve everything, she didn’t know how long that would take, and the thought of not only Adrien but her friends taking cover around the school was already weighing too heavy on her shoulders. 

Chat Noir didn’t offer up any protest. “Alright, how do you think we should go about it?”

“Maybe break as many of the windows as possible? Help anyone who’s hiding in closets and such out through them?” Ladybug suggested.

“That could work, but what about the noise? We would definitely draw attention.” Chat frowned. 

“It might be the only way.” She glanced at his retracted staff. “Your staff is pretty strong, and I’m sure it could knock someone unconscious...”

Chat looked down uneasily at his staff. “You’re right.” He sighed. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“I’m coming with you.” Alya said, putting her phone in her pocket.

“No, you’re not.” Ladybug said, shaking her head. 

“It’s too dangerous. You need to go home.” Chat added in.

“I’m going in whether you like it or not. I’m not going to sit by while my friends are in there.” Alya said, planting her feet down with her hands on her hips. “I might not be a superhero-” She looked at Ladybug, an unspoken ‘ _right now_ ’ shared through eye contact. “-but I can still help.” 

Ladybug let out a frustrated sigh. She knew full well that Alya wasn’t going to back down. “Alright. But you have to stay with us at all times, no running off, and don’t attract more attention to yourself.” 

“I won’t let you down.” Alya smiled. 

“Do you know if anyone stuck in a main floor class?” Chat asked, looking at the windows. 

Alya shook her head. “All of the classes on the main floor that I could see through the windows were searched a while ago by the monsters. It looked like they weren’t able to get into the locker room, though.” She took her phone out and played a video of the monsters, trying to break into the locker room to no avail.

“That might be a good place to start, then.” Chat said. The three of them made their way around the outside of the school, finding the locker room windows. They sat just above Ladybug’s head level, and required her using her yoyo to grapple up, keeping herself level with the tinted window. She could see a few figures moving about inside.

Taking a risk, she kicked through the thin glass with her feet. The glass shattered, forcing her to stand on the window sill. Inside, the now visible forms stopped and looked up, terrified. Several students crouched inside, their faces covering with relief as they took in the bright red super heroine. 

A few students moved away from the barricade of benches and other things that covered the door and windows. “Ladybug!” One of them cried out, rushing to the wall she stood atop. 

“I’m here to get you all out of here.” She said, scanning the room. There were a few of her classmates hiding, like Rose, Nino, and Max, but most of the students were from other classes or grades. “Is anyone else in the bathrooms?” She asked, not seeing Adrien in the crowed below her. 

“No, we’re all out here.” Nino replied. Outside, Alya heard his voice and sighed with relief. 

“Is Marinette in there, too?” She asked, unknowingly on behalf of Chat Noir as well. 

Ladybug was silent, not wanting to say no. “No, no one has seen her since she left earlier.” Max replied from inside. 

“I’m going to help everyone get through the window, Chat Noir will catch you on the other side.” Ladybug said, dropping down from the windowsill into the locker room, the glass crunching under her feet. Everyone lined up as Ladybug propped them up onto her hands, heaving them over the wall and through the empty window. Once everyone was outside, Ladybug climbed back over. 

“Everyone needs to get to safety now. Anywhere but here.” Chat Noir directed, pointing away from the school. Just as students began to walk away, several figures appeared from around the corners of the school, rushing towards the group. A few students near the edge of the group screamed as they were taken down by the vampires. 

More of them streamed from around the corners, unturned students running as fast as they could. Ladybug and Chat Noir prepared their weapons, swinging at the vampires as they dove for the fleeing students. Chat Noir in particular was doing a good job at rendering the vampires unconscious. The most Ladybug could do with her yoyo was stun or trip the vampires, making it much easier for Chat to extend his staff and hit them. 

She knew that if she had been able to get close enough to use her fists she would be much more lethal, however they likely weren’t immune to being bitten, and proximity was their biggest downfall. She heard a scream that froze her blood. Taking a quick and risky glance backwards, she saw Alya on the ground far away, pinned by a vampire who had slipped through. Nino laid beside her, blood pooled in the grass around him. 

Her heart skipped a beat as she shook off the image from her mind, turning to the slowing number of vampires rushing her way. After they had knocked out what seemed to be the last of them coming their way, they glanced around. Most of the students had gotten away, but the ones who hadn’t were beginning to rise. “Let’s go.” Ladybug said, grabbing Chat’s arm and running back towards the basement window around the side of the school. She desperately didn’t want to have to hurt Alya, and Chat wanted nothing less than to violently hit his best friend in the side of the head.

“What do you think brought them on?” Ladybug asked once they had reached the window from before. 

“It’s not exactly like we were being quiet.” Chat answered, a little exasperated. 

Ladybug sighed, knowing he was right. “We need to get into the basement before the new ones come for us.”

“You’re right.” Chat said, crouching before the window.


	6. Six

Chat Noir rolled his shoulders, crouched before the window. He pulled back his fist and forced it straight to the now cracked glass. He pulled it back again and punched it once more, breaking through. He glanced down at his hand, which was completely fine despite the strength of the thick glass. 

Ladybug took her own glance towards his hand. Even though she knew their miraculous made them borderline indestructible, she still cringed a little over watching him crack his fist against the very thick glass. He stood back up and gestured to the open window. “Ladies first.”

“Thanks, Chat.” Ladybug crouched down and slid through feet first. She landed quietly before brushing off broken glass from her suit. Chat Noir landed beside her, looking around. 

“ _It’s times like these I’m glad I have night vision._ ” He whispered.

“ _Try not to rub it in too much, Kitty._ ” Ladybug teased, trying to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. 

“ _No one is around us, and I don’t hear anyth-_ ” Chat was cut off by a scream. Even though they were both well aware that was the sound of Chloe’s shriek, neither could reveal that they were familiar enough with her to know. They shared a look of understanding and began slinking quietly towards the source of the scream. They ducked behind machinery and storage, making their way over.

“What do you want from me?” Chloe wailed as Ladybug and Chat Noir poked their heads over a machine, taking in the scene before them. Chloe sat, tied with what appeared to be the same ropes that they had tied the girl from before with. She sat atop a chair, struggling against her restraints. 

Jules stood before her, his cloak swirling around his feet as he spun away from her, turning his back. “Nothing _from_ you.” He said. “What I want is for you to feel humiliated. Then, you’ll become just like everyone here. How is that for original?” He spun back around, sneering. Chloe winced at the sight of his fangs and dried blood in the corners of his mouth. 

Chloe whimpered and struggled against the chair, her dress bunched up. The tear had only gotten worse, presumably from her struggle. “Why don’t you just get it over with, then?” She forced out, clearly trying to stop herself from shaking.

“That would make it too easy for you.” He waved her off, turning his head to look at a few vampires walking down to the basement. “What happened?”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir came back and broke into the locker room.” One said, frowning. “They got all of the students out, but we got most of them.”

“That’s good.” Jules nodded his head. 

“But... They managed to knock a lot of us unconscious.” Another vampire said, frowning. “And they escaped.” A vamprified Alya came down the stairs with another 2 students turned shortly earlier. Her eyes were frighteningly dead, and blood had dried around her neck. Ladybug’s eyes widened, horrified.

“What? How did any of you let that happen?” Jules nearly shouted, slamming his fist down on a nearby folding table. Chloe jumped at the impact. “Go look for them, have everyone still conscious looking only for Ladybug and Chat Noir.” He directed. Some of the vampires including Alya wordlessly left, going back up the stairs to the main floor. The others stayed put by the stairwell.

Chloe looked up fearfully to Jules. “I don’t beg.” She said sharply. “But... Please, let me go.” She pouted. 

“Did you really expect that to work?” Jules sneered again.

“N-no.” Chloe said, turning her head away from him. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Ladybug poking her head over a powerless machine. Ladybug shook her head, hoping to silence Chloe. 

Chloe turned her face back to Jules, keeping it straight. Ladybug felt an abnormal amount of gratitude towards the girl.

“We have all the time in the world. No one can help you. Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t get down here without being noticed, and everyone else is with me.” 

Chloe kept herself silent, doing her best to keep her face neutral as Jules spoke, getting closer and closer with every word.

“What? Did you run out of things to say?” Jules said, standing very close before Chloe.

Ladybug had to keep herself from gasping as Chloe spat on Jules’ face. She glanced to Chat Noir who appeared to have an unexplained shocked expression as well. She shook off the feeling and decided it was time to act. She crouched down behind the machine and summoned her lucky charm as quietly as possible. Lucky for her, Jules was too busy yelling at Chloe to notice her whisper. 

“It’s like you want to be held captive for longer!” Jules wiped the spit off with his sleeve as the lucky charm dropped into Ladybug’s hands. She stared down at it, puzzled. 

It was a bottle of antiseptic with a cloth wrapped around it. Chat Noir crouched beside her, equally as puzzled. She paused in thought for a moment before looking up at Chat Noir, dread filling her stomach. 

“ _Antiseptic? What are we supposed to do with that?_ ” Chat Noir asked, his whisper drowned by the continued yelling. 

“ _We won’t be using it._ ” Ladybug’s eyes were filled with fear. “ _It’s telling me what we have to do._ ” 

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Chat Noir asked, confused. 

“ _The akuma has to be in his teeth, and we have to get close to him to destroy them._ ” Ladybug said, glancing down to Chat Noir’s hand. He followed her gaze and frowned. 

“ _And cataclysm is the best option to destroy it quickly._ ” He looked back up. “ _But what does the antiseptic have to do with it?_ ”

“ _You’re going to have to get close to him to destroy his teeth, and that means..._ ”

“ _I’ll get bitten_ ” Chat let out a dry, quiet laugh. “ _Funny sense of humour your lucky charm has._ ” 

“ _I’m sorry, but it’s the best option._ ” Ladybug frowned.

“ _I know, I’ll be fine._ ” Chat mustered up a smile. “ _After all, you’ll save the day afterwards._ ” He rested a hand on Ladybug’s shoulder. “ _I guess I’ll just-_ ” He fell silent, the yelling in the background coming to a stop. 

“We’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?” Jules said, pacing in front of Chloe. 

Chloe kept herself quiet, but nervously glanced to the machine where Ladybug and Chat Noir hid behind. Jules approached her, reaching out and tilting her head. He began to lean forward as he exposed her neck.

Suddenly, Jules was tackled to the ground by Chat Noir, who had dived out. Chloe let out a breath of relief. 

Chat Noir rolled with Jules, coming to a stop at the wall. Unfortunately, he ended up at the bottom, Jules atop him. “Cataclysm!” He said as Jules pulled at his neck, lunging forward. Chat reached up and connected his hand to one of Jules’ teeth just as his fangs sunk into Chat’s neck. He let out a groan of pain as the teeth punctured his flesh and faded to dust, a black butterfly flying out. Ladybug ran forward from the machine, keeping her eyes away from Chat Noir’s body as she tossed her yoyo out to grab and purify the akuma. 

She allowed herself a regretful glance at her partner, who laid motionless on the ground, the once akumatized Jules sitting beside him. Blood seeped down his neck and pooled around his head, his eyes lifeless. She knew he wasn’t dead, and that as soon as she threw the antiseptic to the air he would be fine.

But was it ever hard to get that image out of her head.

Shaking her head, she threw the antiseptic into the air, cleansing her surroundings. The ropes vanished from Chloe, returning to their original placement. The vampire’s by the stairwell returned to normal, dazed students. The fake vampire teeth returned to Jules’ mouth, back together. 

Ladybug held her breath as she looked at Chat Noir, who laid still on the ground. The blood around his head had vanished, and his eyes glanced around the room. He sat up and smiled at Ladybug. “Great job as always, my lady.” He stood up, then helped Jules stand. Ladybug smiled back before glancing at Chloe, who still looked shaken. 

Ladybug walked over to Chloe and stood before her. “Are you alright?” 

“I’ll be fine.” Chloe said, putting on a brave face. “Thank you for saving me before he...” She rubbed at her neck, leaving the sentence unfinished.

“It’s my job.” Ladybug smiled lightly and helped Chloe up from the chair before walking over to Chat Noir and Jules, who were talking.

“...Are you feeling okay?” Chat asked.

“I think I’m fine.” Jules replied, his words coming out in a lisp. He popped the fake teeth out, slipping them into his cloak’s pocket.

“Good.” Chat nodded his head. He glanced to Ladybug as she came to a stop beside him. “Well, my Lady.” He said, his joking tone faltering as he took in her sombre expression.”What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just...” She glanced around the room, not wanting to let her insecurities out to air in front of the students around her. “We should go, it’s not going to be long before we transform back.” She said, her earrings letting off their 3rd to last warning on cue. 

“Alright.” Chat agreed, speeding up the stairs with Ladybug. The two superheroes vaulted to the rooftops of the school. 

“So... Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Chat Noir extended his pole enough to lean on it, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a little jarring to see you be attacked like that.” She sighed. “And I had been hoping that your miraculous would stop you from being wounded so badly, but I guess since it’s an akuma...”

“Were you worried about me?” Chat said, a smirk sliding over his face. Ladybug scoffed. 

“Of course I was. If you weren’t able to get to his teeth with your cataclysm... I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Chat Noir frowned a little bit, off put by Ladybug’s unusual uneasiness. “Everything turned out fine like always, Bugaboo.” He gently rested his hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about.” His eyes softened. 

Ladybug mustered up a smile as her earrings let out another beep. She stepped back from Chat Noir and prepared to swing off the roof. “Thanks, Kitty.” She dropped down, hitching her yoyo nearby and swinging away. She rounded a building before sweeping into an alleyway nearby the school, detransforming. Tikki appeared before her.

“That was very brave of you, Marinette.” She said, smiling.

“I didn’t do anything. Chat Noir was the only one who had to be put in danger.” Marinette rolled her shoulders. 

“You may not have been in direct trouble, but you had to keep yourself calm while managing everything around you. I know it wasn’t easy to watch Alya be attacked.” Tikki pressed a soft kiss against Marinette’s cheek before flying into her bag, settling in. Marinette smiled down at Tikki and closed the bag. She casually walked from the alleyway and made her way back to school. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m almost done.” Marinette said, keeping her teeth together to hold the pin in her mouth. 

“Just... Don’t mess it up.” Chloe huffed a little, crossing her arm as she looked away. 

Marinette remained silent. Even though Chloe was being difficult, Marinette felt that she had to make it up to Chloe for what had happened less than an hour ago. Chloe was running under the impression that no one else knew that she had been near tortured. Surprisingly enough to Marinette, Chloe had kept that secret. The most she had mentioned to anyone was that she was held captive, but she lied and said she was just there for bait. 

Clearly, the experience had a less than ideal affect on her. Marinette had been admittedly impressed with the fact that Chloe risked her own safety to distract the akuma away from Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The only way Marinette could think to make it up to her was to repair the tear in Chloe’s costume. Convincing Chloe to let her help had proved quite difficult, but eventually Chloe caved. Marinette finished her stitch and slipped the needle and thread back into her travel sewing set. “Done.”

Chloe stood up and inspected Marinette’s work. “It’s... Not bad.” She pursed her lips, debating her next words. “Thanks.” She sniffed, clearly uncomfortable with the gratitude. She turned away, her newly repaired skirt twirling. “In case you haven’t heard... I’m having a Halloween party at the hotel tonight.” She said as she left the locker room, leaving Marinette alone. Tikki popped Marinette’s bag open and stuck her head out. 

“That was so kind of you, Marinette.” She smiled, looking up at Marinette. 

“It was the least I could do.” Marinette said, opening her locker and putting the sewing kit away. She closed and locked it. “One more hour until the day ends.” She closed her purse shut and rushed out of the locker room, making her way to class.


	7. Seven

Marinette pressed open the doors to the hotel, taking in the tasteful Halloween decor as she approached the lobby desk. The woman behind it looked up, raising an eyebrow. “How can I help you?” She asked, putting down the paper she held.

“I’m looking for Chloe’s party.” Marinette reached up and tucked a dark lock behind her ear.

“It’s on the 7th floor in the ballroom.” The woman nodded her head and pointed towards the elevators. 

“Thanks.” Marinette said, walking over to the elevators and pressing the button. 

“Hey, Marinette!” Kim said, walking up to Marinette with Max at his side. 

“Hi, Kim, Max.” Marinette spun around, smiling at the two boys.

“I see you’re late like us.” Max adjusted his visor. The elevator dinged as the doors slid open, welcoming the three teenagers in. 

“Yeah.” Marinette sighed, pressing the 7th floor button as the doors slid shut. “I got held up at home after school, but we’re not too late, are we?”

“Nope.” Kim said.

“To be precise, the party was supposed to start...” Max checked the time. “30 minutes ago.”

“Thanks, Max.” Marinette smiled at him. The doors slid back open, revealing the fully decorated floor. Halloween streamers hanged from the ceiling and drink tables, costumed teenagers milled about, some dancing on the dance floor. 

They all stepped out from the elevator, Marinette pausing to take in the room around her. “There you are, Girl!” Alya said, wrapping an arm around Marinette’s shoulder. “What took you so long? You said you’d be here 20 minutes ago.”

Marinette cringed a little, recalling the text she had sent Alya promising to be there no less than 10 minutes late. “Sorry, Alya. My parents needed help fixing the Halloween display, it was really busy all day.”

“It’s all good.” Alya said, a smirk crawling over her face. “You know what else is good? Nino has been keeping Adrien busy and away from Chloe” Alya pointed across the room where Nino and Adrien stood off to the side of the dance floor talking. Chloe remained not too far away, talking to a girl from school. Every now and then, she glanced over the girls shoulder to look at Adrien. “Let’s go over.” Alya grabbed onto Marinette’s hand, dragging her across the ballroom towards the boys.

“Hey, Nino.” Alya slid up beside Nino, letting Marinette’s hand go. Marinette ended up standing next to Adrien, her mind keeping her painfully aware of his proximity.

“Where did you go off to, Alya?” Nino asked.

“I was looking for little miss ‘ _I’ll be 10 minutes late_ ’ over here.” Alya nodded to Marinette who shook her head. “You two haven’t gone dancing yet, have you?” 

“There hasn’t been anyone to dance with since you left.” Nino said, causing Alya to smile and lean against his side.

“There’s no better time than now.” Alya grabbed onto Nino’s arm and led him to the dance floor, Halloween music humming in the background. 

Marinette stood next to Adrien, unable to turn herself to face him. Adrien, however, was not as frozen. He turned to Marinette and smiled. “I guess it’s just us now, huh?” He said.

“Y-yeah.” Marinette did her best to keep herself composed. Her day felt so long and her ability to speak to Adrien was depleting _fast_. 

Adrien glanced around the room. “That’s right. I never got to finish asking you earlier.” 

“As... ask me what?” Marinette raised her eyebrows. 

“If you would save a dance for me.” Adrien looked at Marinette, taking in her shocked expression. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I get it.” Adrien added on. 

“No! N-no. I would like to.” Marinette first shook her head then nodded. Adrien smiled and reached his arm out, linking Marinette’s in his. The pair stepped onto the dance floor, falling into the rhythm of the seasonal song playing. Adrien spun Marinette effortlessly, her white dress billowing around her legs. Adrien smiled as Marinette came to a halt. His eyes traveled behind her, his brows furrowing. Marinette turned to see what he was looking at. 

Chloe stood abnormally idle by the drink table. Her face displayed a sombre frown, strongly contrasting the generally upbeat atmosphere. “I should check up on Chloe.” Adrien said, snapping Marinette out of her stare. “She doesn’t usually look so... miserable.” Adrien said, stepping back from Marinette. “Sorry, Marinette. We can pick this up again later, right?” He said, glancing back at Marinette as he began walking towards Chloe.

“O-of course.” Marinette nodded. She walked off the dance floor and stood at the side, watching her schoolmates mill around the room. Her eyes landed on Alya, who was dancing with Nino. Alya laughed then turned her head, making eye contact with Marinette. She drew Nino’s attention to Marinette before making her way over, Nino in tow. 

“Where did Adrien go? You two looked like you were having fun before.” Alya said, raising an eyebrow. 

“He went to check up on Chloe.” Marinette gestured to the drink table where Adrien stood, talking to Chloe. “She looked really upset.”

“Weird.” Alya said, glancing around. “Hey, Rose, come over here for a sec.” Alya called out as Rose passed by. 

“What’s going on?” Rose asked, cheerful. 

“Do you know why Chloe looks upset?” Alya asked. 

“Oh! Some girls from another class were saying that Chloe cried like a baby when she was taken by...” Rose trailed off, thinking.

“Jules?” Marinette piped in.

“Yeah! Him.” Rose nodded her head. “They said she was pathetic, and apparently when she was rescued by Ladybug she was a mess.” Rose shrugged. “That’s what they said, anyways.” 

Marinette frowned. She knew that wasn’t what had happened, but _she_ wasn’t there. Not as Marinette. “Where did they get that from?” Marinette tilted her head. 

“I dunno.” Rose said. “I only heard half the conversation.” Her eyes widened. “That’s right! Chloe didn’t even try defending herself against them. She just let them insult her.” She glanced to her side and smiled brightly at Juleka, who stood by a far window. “Is it okay if I go now?” 

“Yeah, of course, Rose.” Alya said, waving her off. “I saw Chloe get taken by Jules when I was trying to run. She wasn’t crying like a baby.” Her eyes narrowed. “And why would Chloe just _take_ that from those girls? She never lets anyone insult her.”

“It’s weird.” Nino agreed. “My man Adrien doesn’t seem to be doing much good over there.” Nino pointed to Chloe who said something rather sharply before turning on her heels and storming away from Adrien, who looked more concerned than anything. 

Marinette had a feeling that Chloe wasn’t in the best headspace to deal with lesser mean girls after what had happened at school. 

And despite how awful Chloe had been to Marinette in the past, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy. Just as Adrien began walking in their direction, Marinette spoke up. “I’m going to go try to talk to her.”

“What? Why? If Adrien couldn’t help then why would she listen to you? She doesn’t even like any of us, other than Adrien.” Alya frowned. 

“It’s worth a shot.” Marinette began walking away as Adrien came to a stop, entering the group. Marinette kept walking, not letting the nervous energy she got from being near Adrien dissuade her from doing her best to help Chloe. Marinette walked in the direction Chloe had taken off in, noticing only one possible place for her to have run off to here. 

The bathroom. Perhaps not the best place for an upset student to be after the events of that day. But at least this time, Marinette could go in. 

Marinette pushed open the door and found herself in a luxurious bathroom, complete with golden sinks, fancy soaps, and mints by the door. Only one stall was shut fully, and so Marinette took her chances and spoke. “Chloe? Are you in here?”

“Ugh. What do you want?” Chloe’s voice came from within the stall. 

“I wanted to see if you were okay.” Marinette said. 

“You of all people.” Chloe’s voice came out shakier than usual. “Why do you care?”

“You looked really upset out there, and I know Adrien tried talking to you but-” Marinette went on, leaning against the sink counter. 

“Right. You and Adrien must have had a lot of fun dancing together.” Chloe’s voice became venomous rather than shaky. “Really cute.”

“We’re not- Adrien isn’t-” Marinette sputtered, taken off guard by the change in topic. “He’s just a friend, Chloe.” 

“Whatever you say, _Marinette._ ” Chloe huffed. “Why I’m upset is none of your business. Now if you would _leave_ that would be _fantastic_ ” 

Marinette kept her feet firmly planted, not leaving. “If it’s about what those girls were saying to you, you know it isn’t true.” 

“Yeah? And how do you know that?” 

“I- uh...” Marinette paused. “Alya told me she saw you when you were taken.” 

Chloe scoffed. “What does your opinion matter to me, anyways?” The stall lock clicked as it slid open. “I don’t care what any of you lesser beings think.” Chloe said as the stall swung open. She stepped out and strutted towards Marinette. 

“Chloe, I just want to help you-” Marinette backed up as Chloe rapidly approached. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng you are in _my_ hotel and I demand you leave this bathroom _now._ ” Chloe scowled, clearly unpleased with her situation. 

“Chloe-” Marinette tried. 

“If you don’t leave me alone here then I’ll be forced to get security to escort you from the hotel all together.” Chloe stepped very close to Marinette. “ _Go._ ”  
So Marinette went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my Halloween fic! I intended to finish it on Halloween, but I found myself a bit too busy. Oops.
> 
> This fic doesn't really end well because I intend to write a second part next Halloween, a whole year from now.


End file.
